


Marry Me

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Series: Soul Songs [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hopeful Ending, Pre-Relationship, Unrequited Stucky, major angst, unrequited Shieldshock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: Bucky and Darcy make friends as they are both suffering from broken hearts. Angst with a hopeful ending.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis
Series: Soul Songs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105802
Kudos: 52





	Marry Me

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Song “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett. Just change the she in the lyrics to a he and it fits perfectly.

The wedding was nearly over and the best man was very relieved. Sure, he’d been through a lot of types of physical and mental torture in his overly long existence, but the emotional torture of seeing the one he loved marry someone else was a whole new level of pain. He’d bid Steve and Nat goodbye and wished them a happy honeymoon, after which he’d felt like ripping his face open from the strain of keeping the fake smile for so long. 

Grabbing a glass of wine, he retreated from the festivities as far as he could, desperately needing to be alone. Wandering outside, he strode down the porch of the log cabin retreat center, spying a lone woman sitting on the bench. He stopped in his tracks and she glanced up at him forlornly, drink in one hand, tissues in the other. 

_”I’m sorry,”_ Bucky hastily apologized, seeing the redness around her blue eyes. _“Didn’t mean to intrude.”_

 _“You’re fine,”_ the woman said, waving a hand carelessly. _“This is the perfect place for a post wedding pity party, which it’s clear you’re in need of.”_

Bucky chuckled mirthlessly and sat down on a chair near hers. 

“You’re uncannily perceptive,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

“I could see your face during the ceremony,” she admitted. “I know the look of a broken heart. I’ve got plenty of experience there.” 

Her eyes grew so sad, that Bucky had to look away. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one struggling with that pain today. 

“Here I thought my super spy poker face was on point,” he said wryly. 

“There were a couple moments it slipped,” she said gently, but was considerate enough to not specify. “I’ve been around you spies and superheroes long enough to learn to figure it out.”

“You work for Shield?” He asked. 

“Not directly,” she replied. “I’m assistant to Dr. Jane Foster. Became buddies with the rest of the Avengers as a result. Let myself get a little too interested in a certain captain, against my better judgment.” She sighed heavily and downed the rest of her drink. 

“I mean, I knew our Words didn’t match, but he was just so…...sweet, and gorgeous, and funny, and heroic, and an amazing man, I couldn’t help myself, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bucky said quietly. “The punk sure is one of a kind.” 

Their eyes met in a sad understanding as they both grasped the other’s pain.

She reached her hand over and squeezed his in sympathy. 

“And you’re his best friend. I can’t imagine how hard this has been.” 

“Can’t get everything you want,” Bucky shrugged. “Like with you, I knew our Marks weren’t matched. It was inevitable. I know Steve never meant to hurt me.” 

She huffed angrily. 

“It’s not fair, especially for you. The universe owes you all the happiness after all the horrible stuff it’s put you through!! Hear me, universe! You’re a jerk!” She flipped off the sky and Bucky found himself smiling. Her outrage on his behalf was really heartwarming. 

“I take it you’re familiar with my history?” He asked.

“Oh, yes. Steve talked about you a lot. I wished I could have helped them bomb some Hydra bases and taze some Nazis.”

She curled her hand into a fist to emphasize her scorn for their enemies and Bucky suddenly noticed the red letters on her wrist: words he’d said just a few minutes ago. He froze. Surely this couldn’t be happening now, not here! 

“You all right, Bucky?” His companion asked, concerned by his sudden silence. 

“Yeah, um, just noticed something,” he muttered, pulling back his sleeve to reveal his own Words, which also sounded very familiar. 

She turned pale. 

“Oh, crap. Oh, crap. I can’t deal with that right now. Not that you’re not a great guy, you’re Bucky freaking Barnes, for Pete’s sake, but it’s way too soon. It’s not fair!” She ended on a wail and burst into tears. 

Bucky swiftly moved over to pull her into his arms, hating to see her cry. He shouldn’t have said anything. It was a big mistake which had only made her feel worse.

“Hey, Darcy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. The universe has shit timing. We don’t have to do anything about it if we don’t want to. There’s no law about soulmates getting together right away. You don’t even have to see me again if you don’t want to. Goodness knows we’re not prepared for this.” 

He held her gently as she continued to weep in his arms. A few silent tears of his own running down his cheeks. Finally she wiped her eyes and looked back at him, sniffling. 

“How did you know my name?” She rasped. 

“Steve,” he answered hoarsely. Her face crumpled again, but she fought the emotion back. 

“Of course,” she sighed. “It would be him.” 

Bucky thought about the many times Steve had relayed funny stories about Darcy to him and talked about what a delightful, witty gal she was, but he knew better than to bring it up. She was in enough pain already. 

She dabbed at her eyes with her mass of tissues. 

“Ugh. I don’t know what to do. You’re too nice of a guy for me to want to avoid and even if I did, I’d have to quit my job and move. I couldn’t bring myself to leave Jane even after Steve and Natasha got together.” 

“I’m sure Jane would understand if you needed a change of scenery,” he told her. “Ya don’t need to put yourself through that.”

“I don’t see you leaving Steve,” she retorted, poking his chest. “Pot meet kettle.”

Bucky let out a laugh that ended more like a groan and shook his head. 

“We’re quite the pair, alright,” he said sadly.

They sat together in silence, watching the stars come out and feeling comforted by each other’s presence. 

“You know, it will be kind of nice to have someone to talk to when it gets too painful,” Darcy said, her head on Bucky’s shoulder. “You’ll understand.” 

“Yeah,” Bucky said. Boy, did he understand. 

Afterwards, he walked her to her car and they talked about less painful things while they exchanged phone numbers. 

Despite the pain they were in now, it helped to know that there WAS someone out there for them, whenever they might be ready.


End file.
